JP2003123514A - Vehicular headlamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To irradiate a beam with a luminous intensity distribution pattern in response to a travelling condition of a vehicle, in a vehicular headlamp formed by storing a lamp unit to irradiate the beam frontward with a prescribed luminous intensity distribution pattern in a lamp body. SOLUTION: A frame member 50 is supported by a lamp body 14 so as to be vertically rotatable, a lamp unit 20 is supported by the frame member 50 so as to be horizontally rotatable, and the frame member 50 and the lamp unit 20 are rotatively controlled by a control unit 108 in response to the traveling condition of the vehicle. Thereby, the direction of the beam irradiated from the lamp unit 20 can be vertically and horizontally changed in response to the travelling condition of the vehicle.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle headlamp in which a lamp unit for irradiating a beam forward with a predetermined light distribution pattern is housed inside a lamp body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a configuration of a vehicle headlight,
It is known that a lamp unit is housed inside a lamp body. Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-36321 discloses an example of a fog lamp, but the movable reflecting mirror of the lamp unit is rotated in the left-right direction according to the steering angle to displace the light distribution pattern in the left-right direction. What has been done is disclosed. When this lamp unit is applied to the vehicle headlight, it is possible to enhance the visibility of the road surface ahead of the vehicle when the vehicle is moving forward.

[0003]

However, by simply rotating the movable reflecting mirror, which is one component of the lamp unit, in the left-right direction in this way, beam irradiation with a sufficient light amount in the vehicle curving direction is performed. Difficult to do. Also, when the vehicle travels on a curved path with a small radius of curvature or turns at an intersection, it is necessary to rotate the movable reflecting mirror largely in the left-right direction. If this is done, the light distribution pattern will be greatly deformed, so it is difficult to perform beam irradiation with a light distribution pattern that immediately responds to the vehicle running condition.

Further, merely displacing the light distribution pattern in the left-right direction is not sufficient for irradiating the beam with the light distribution pattern adapted to the running condition of the vehicle. For example, the gazing point of the vehicle driver is in a relatively short distance area on the road surface in front of the vehicle when the vehicle speed is low, but gradually moves farther as the vehicle speed increases. It is desirable to move the light distribution pattern up and down accordingly, but a lamp configuration that merely displaces the light distribution pattern in the left-right direction cannot meet such a request.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is a vehicle headlamp in which a lamp unit for irradiating a beam forward with a predetermined light distribution pattern is housed inside a lamp body. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle headlamp that can perform beam irradiation with a light distribution pattern that immediately responds to a vehicle traveling condition.

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is to achieve the above object by devising a support structure for a lamp unit.

That is, the vehicular headlamp according to the present invention is a vehicular headlamp in which a lamp unit for irradiating a beam forward with a predetermined light distribution pattern is housed inside a lamp body. A predetermined frame member is rotatably supported in the body in a vertical direction or a horizontal direction, and the lamp unit is rotatably supported in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction in the frame member.
It is characterized in that the frame member and the lamp unit are each configured to be rotationally controlled in accordance with a vehicle traveling condition.

The specific construction of the "lamp unit" is not particularly limited. For example, a projector type unit (that is, a light source arranged on an optical axis extending in the front-rear direction and a light from the light source) is used. A reflector that reflects the light toward the optical axis toward the front, a projection lens that is provided in front of the reflector, and a portion that is provided between the projection lens and the reflector and that shields a part of the reflected light from the reflector A lamp unit including a shade to
Alternatively, a parabolic lamp unit (that is, a light source arranged on an optical axis extending substantially in the front-rear direction and a paraboloid of revolution having the optical axis as a central axis and a focus near the light source position as a reference plane) It is possible to employ a lamp unit) including a reflector and the like.

The "lamp unit" is constructed so that the light distribution pattern can be changed by switching the lighting of the light source or moving the movable shade (for example, a low beam light distribution pattern and a high beam light distribution pattern). It is possible to switch the beam between them) or to have a fixed light distribution pattern.

As for the light source of the above "lamp unit",
The specific configuration is not particularly limited, and may be a discharge light emitting part of a discharge bulb or a filament of an incandescent bulb such as a halogen bulb.

The above-mentioned "frame member" may be any one as long as it can support the lamp unit rotatably in the left-right direction or the up-down direction while being supported by the lamp body in the up-down direction or the left-right direction. The specific configuration is not particularly limited.

The above-mentioned "vehicle traveling state" means various state quantities and external information related to vehicle traveling, and includes, for example, vehicle speed, steering angle, vehicle attitude, and vehicle-to-vehicle distance, Weather, navigation information, etc. are applicable.

[0013]

As described above, in the vehicle headlamp according to the present invention, a predetermined frame member is rotatably supported by the lamp body in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, and the frame member is also provided. The lamp unit is rotatably supported in the left-right direction or the vertical direction, and the frame member and the lamp unit are configured to be rotationally controlled in accordance with the vehicle traveling situation. The direction of the beam can be changed vertically and horizontally depending on the driving situation of the vehicle,
As a result, beam irradiation can be performed with a light distribution pattern that immediately responds to the vehicle running condition.

As described above, according to the present invention, in the vehicle headlamp in which the lamp unit for irradiating the beam forward with a predetermined light distribution pattern is housed inside the lamp body, the lamp head unit that responds to the running condition of the vehicle immediately. Beam irradiation can be performed with a light pattern. As a result, the visibility of the road surface ahead of the vehicle can be improved.

In the above structure, if the unit rotating mechanism for rotating the lamp unit is supported by the frame member, the unit rotating mechanism can be handled integrally with the lamp unit and the frame member. It can be easily assembled to the lamp body.

Further, in the above structure, if the lamp unit is supported by the frame member so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis passing through the optical axis of the lamp unit, the rotation control of the lamp unit can be accurately and easily performed. In addition, the space occupied by the turning locus of the lamp unit can be minimized, and the lamp can be made compact.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a vehicle headlamp according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, this vehicle headlamp 100
Is a headlight main body 10, a shade drive circuit 102, a unit drive circuit 104, a frame drive circuit 106,
And a control unit 108.

In the vehicle headlight 100, the control unit 108 includes a beam changeover switch 110, a steering angle sensor 112, and a vehicle speed sensor 114.
A detection signal from the vehicle height sensor 116 is input, and the control unit 108 controls the beam irradiation of the headlamp body 10 according to the traveling condition of the vehicle.

The beam changeover switch 110 is a switch for selectively switching between a low beam light distribution pattern and a high beam light distribution pattern, and a vehicle height sensor 116 is composed of a displacement sensor mounted on a front and rear wheel suspension mechanism. .

The headlamp main body 10 has a lamp unit 20 housed in a lamp chamber formed by a transparent cover 12 and a lamp body 14 which are transparent.
Are supported by the lamp body 14 via the frame member 50. At that time, the lamp unit 20 is supported so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction about the vertical axis Av with respect to the frame member 50, and the frame member 50 is
The lamp body 14 is supported so as to be vertically rotatable about a horizontal axis Ah.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the headlamp main body 10, and FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are a side sectional view, a plan sectional view and a front view showing the lamp unit 20 together with the frame member 50. is there.

As shown in these figures, the headlamp body 10
The frame member 50 includes a tubular portion 50A that surrounds the lamp unit 20 in a substantially rectangular shape when the lamp is viewed from the front, and the tubular portion 5
The flange portion 50B is formed over the entire circumference so as to extend from the rear end portion of 0A to the outer peripheral side. On the right side portion (left side portion in FIG. 5) of the flange portion 50B of the frame member 50, the extended side wall portion 5 extending rearward is provided.
0Ba is formed, and this flange portion 50B is also formed.
The lower right lower end portion 50Bb is formed so as to be displaced rearward by a predetermined amount.

An extended side wall portion 50B of the frame member 50
A unit rotation mechanism 70 for rotating the lamp unit 20 in the left-right direction is attached to a.

Aiming nuts 52 are attached to the upper left end and the upper right end of the flange portion 50B of the frame member 50, and the aiming nuts 52 are rotatably attached to the lamp body 14, respectively. A supported aiming screw 54 is screwed on.
The horizontal axis Ah is constituted by a straight line extending in the horizontal direction so as to connect both screwing points. The frame member 50 is attached to the lower right end portion 50Bb of the flange portion 50B.
A frame rotation mechanism 80 for rotating the vertical direction is connected.

In the headlamp main body 10, by appropriately rotating each aiming screw 54,
The initial adjustment of the optical axis Ax of the lamp unit 20 (aiming adjustment for making the optical axis Ax coincide with the vehicle front-rear direction) can be performed.

The lamp unit 20 is a projector type lamp unit, and includes a discharge bulb 22 and a reflector 2.
4, a holder 26, a projection lens 28, a retaining ring 30, a shade 32, and a shade drive mechanism 34.
And are equipped with.

The discharge bulb 22 is a metal halide bulb and is attached to the reflector 24 so that its discharge light emitting portion 22a (light source) is arranged on the optical axis Ax.

The reflector 24 has a substantially elliptic spherical reflecting surface 24a having the optical axis Ax as its central axis. The reflecting surface 24a has an elliptical cross-sectional shape including the optical axis Ax, and its eccentricity is set to gradually increase from the vertical cross section to the horizontal cross section. However, the rear vertices of the ellipses forming each of these cross sections are set at the same position. The light source 22a is arranged at the elliptic first focus F1 forming the vertical cross section of the reflecting surface 24a. Thereby, the reflecting surface 24a is configured to reflect the light from the light source 22a forward toward the optical axis Ax, and at that time, in the vertical cross section including the optical axis Ax, the second focal point F2 of the ellipse. It is designed to converge to.

The holder 26 is formed in a tubular shape so as to extend forward from the front end opening of the reflector 24, is fixedly supported by the reflector 24 at its rear end, and has a retaining ring at its front end. The projection lens 28 is fixedly supported via 30. At the lower end of the holder 26, the downward bulging portion 2 bulging downward.
6a is formed.

The projection lens 28 is a plano-convex lens whose front surface is a convex surface and whose rear surface is a flat surface. The projection lens 28 is arranged so that its rear focal position coincides with the second focal point F2 of the reflecting surface 24a of the reflector 24. There is. As a result, the projection lens 28 condenses the reflected light from the reflecting surface 24a of the reflector 24 toward the optical axis Ax and transmits it.

The shade 32 includes a shade body portion 32A extending substantially along a vertical plane orthogonal to the optical axis Ax,
The shade main body portion 32A includes a substantially semi-cylindrical portion 32B extending forward from a peripheral edge portion, and a bracket portion 32C extending downward from the lower end portion of the substantially semi-cylindrical portion 32B in the downward bulging portion 26a of the holder 26. It is rotatably provided in the lower part of the inner space of the holder 26. That is, the shade 32 is supported by the holder 26 via the rotating pins 36 at the upper front ends on the left and right sides of the substantially semi-cylindrical portion 32B, whereby the low beam is rotated around the horizontal axis connecting the rotating pins 36. It is possible to rotate between a configuration position (position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 3) and a high beam configuration position (position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3).

The shade 32 is arranged so that the upper edge 32Aa of the shade body 32A passes through the second focal point F2 when it is in the low beam forming position, and shields a part of the reflected light from the reflecting surface 24a. The upward irradiation light emitted from the lamp unit 20 is removed to obtain low-beam irradiation light (beam indicated by the solid line in FIG. 3) that is irradiated downward with respect to the optical axis Ax. As a result, the low beam light distribution pattern P (L) of the left light distribution having the so-called Z-shaped cut-off line CL having a step difference between the left and the right as shown in FIG. 6A is formed.

On the other hand, when the shade 32 is in the high beam forming position, the shade 32 releases the shield of the reflected light from the reflecting surface 24a and allows the upward irradiation light from the lamp unit 20 to be emitted. Irradiation light (beam indicated by a solid line and a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3) is obtained. As a result, a high beam light distribution pattern P (H) as shown in FIG. 6B is formed.

Incidentally, these low beam light distribution patterns P
Areas indicated by HZ in (L) and the high beam light distribution pattern P (H) are hot zones (high light intensity areas) in these light distribution patterns. In addition, FIG.
(B) is a figure which shows perspectively the light distribution pattern formed on the virtual vertical screen arrange | positioned by the beam irradiation from the lamp unit 20 at the position of 25 m ahead of a lamp (this is also the case in the following figures. ).

The shade drive mechanism 34 includes a solenoid 38.
And a tension coil spring 40. By rotating the shade 32 between the low beam configuration position and the high beam configuration position, the beam switching between the low beam and the high beam is performed. Solenoid 38
The plunger (movable iron core) 38a is arranged so as to extend parallel to the optical axis Ax, and is fixedly inserted into the solenoid housing portion 24b formed in the lower region of the reflector 24, and the front end of the plunger 38a is fixed. The spherical portion comes into contact with the bracket portion 32C of the shade 32. The tension coil spring 40 has one end locked to the bracket portion 32C of the shade 32 and the other end locked to the solenoid housing portion 24b.
The shade 32 is always elastically biased toward the low beam forming position. This shade drive mechanism 3
4 is driven by the shade drive circuit 102 via the control unit 108 when the beam changeover switch 110 is operated.

The lamp unit 20 is provided with a pin 26b protruding downward at a position on the vertical axis Av in the downward bulging portion 26a of the holder 26.
6b is inserted in and supported by the tubular portion 50A of the frame member 50 via the collar 56 and the spacer 58. Also,
A boss (not shown) protruding upward is formed at a position on the vertical axis Av at the upper end portion of the holder 26, and the boss 50A of the frame member 50 is provided via the collar 60 and the spacer 62. The screw 64 is fastened and fixed to the boss via the collar 60.

The unit rotating mechanism 70 includes the frame member 5
It is composed of a motor 72 fixed to the extension side wall portion 50Ba of 0 and a link mechanism 74 connecting the motor 72 and the lamp unit 20. The link mechanism 74 includes a rotation lever 76 fixed to the output shaft 72a of the motor 72,
A link 78 is formed, one end of which is pin-connected to the rotating lever 76, and the other end of which is pin-connected to the link fixing protrusion 24d of the reflector 24. In the unit rotating mechanism 70, the unit drive circuit 1 is responsive to a control signal from the control unit 108.
04 drives the motor 72, and transmits this driving force to the lamp unit 20 via the link mechanism 74, so that the lamp unit 20 is adjusted to the initial adjustment position (optical axis Ax in the vehicle longitudinal direction) about the vertical axis Av. Position that matches)
Therefore, it can be rotated in both left and right directions within a predetermined angle range.

The frame rotating mechanism 80 is used for the lamp body 1.
4 is composed of a motor 82 fixed to the lower rear wall and a frame connecting bush 84 attached to the tip of the output shaft 82a of the motor 82. The frame connecting bush 84 is located on the right side of the flange portion 50B of the frame member 50. It is connected to the lower end portion 50Bb. This frame rotation mechanism 8
In the case of 0, the motor 82 is driven by the frame drive circuit 106 in response to a control signal from the control unit 108.
By driving this driving force to the frame member 50 via the frame connecting bush 84, the lamp unit 20 together with the frame member 50 is centered around the horizontal axis line Ah, and the lamp unit 20 is moved upward and downward by a predetermined angle from the initial adjustment position. It can be rotated within a range.

Next, the vehicle headlamp 10 according to this embodiment.
The contents of the beam irradiation control performed at 0 will be described.

As described above, in this embodiment,
The unit rotation mechanism 7 is controlled by the control unit 108.
The beam irradiation control according to the traveling condition of the vehicle is performed by driving and controlling the 0 and the frame rotating mechanism 80.

That is, under the condition that the vehicle is traveling straight ahead, the beam irradiation is performed in the light distribution pattern as shown in FIG. At this time, the unit rotating mechanism 70 and the frame rotating mechanism 80 are connected to each other by the lamp unit 20.
Is fixed at the initial adjustment position. The shade drive mechanism 34 moves the shade 32 to the low beam configuration position or the high beam configuration position in accordance with the operation of the beam changeover switch 110, whereby the low beam light distribution pattern P (L) shown in FIG. Beam irradiation is performed with the high beam distribution pattern P (H) shown in FIG.

When the steering operation is performed while the vehicle is traveling, the beam irradiation is performed in the light distribution pattern shown in FIG. 7 or 8.

That is, when the steering operation to the left is performed, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the lamp unit 20 is rotated to the left and the light distribution pattern P (L), P (H) is displaced to the left, so that the visibility of the road surface ahead of the vehicle at the time of turning left is enhanced. The displacement of the light distribution patterns P (L) and P (H) is performed by the control unit 108 driving the unit rotating mechanism 70 via the unit drive circuit 104 based on the detection signal from the steering angle sensor 112. It is supposed to be. At that time, when the radius of curvature of the vehicle traveling path becomes small, the light distribution patterns P (L), P (H)
Since it is preferable to displace the vehicle to the left to a greater extent in order to improve the visibility of the road surface ahead of the vehicle when the vehicle turns left, the leftward turning angle of the lamp unit 20 is set to increase as the steering angle increases. There is.

On the other hand, when the steering operation to the right is performed, as shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b),
The light distribution pattern P is obtained by rotating the lamp unit 20 to the right.
(L) and P (H) are displaced to the right, so that the visibility of the road surface ahead of the vehicle at the time of turning right is improved. At that time, the rightward rotation angle of the lamp unit 20 is set to increase as the steering angle increases, as in the case of leftward turn. However, when the steering operation to the right is performed in the low beam irradiation state, the lamp unit 20 is rotated to the right and rotated upward by about 0.5 °, whereby the lamp unit 20 is shown in FIG. Thus, the low beam light distribution pattern P (L) is displaced upward by about 0.5 °. The displacement of the low beam light distribution pattern P (L) is performed by the control unit 108 driving the frame drive mechanism 80 via the frame drive circuit 106 based on the detection signal from the steering angle sensor 112. There is.

Since the right half of the cut-off line CL of the low-beam light distribution pattern P (L) is stepped down, when the steering operation to the right is performed in this manner, the low-beam light distribution pattern P (L). ) Is moved upward to move the cutoff line CL upward, it is possible to enhance the distant visibility of the road surface ahead of the vehicle at the time of turning right. Even if the cut-off line CL is moved upward in this way, since the hot zone HZ of the low-beam light distribution pattern P (L) is not located on the oncoming lane side when traveling to the right, a large glare is given to the oncoming driver. There is no fear of giving it.

It should be noted that the reason why the low beam light distribution pattern P (L) is not displaced upward when the steering operation to the left is performed is that the left half of the cut-off line CL is raised, so that the low beam light distribution pattern P (L) is raised. Light pattern P
Even if the cutoff line CL is not moved upward by the upward displacement of (L), the distant visibility of the road surface ahead of the vehicle can be ensured when the vehicle turns left, and if the cutoff line CL is moved upward, low beam light distribution is achieved. Pattern P
This is because the hot zone HZ of (L) may greatly enter the oncoming lane side and give glare to the oncoming driver.

When the vehicle is traveling straight in the low beam irradiation state, the vehicle speed is a predetermined value (for example, 60 km /
h) At low and medium vehicle speeds below, beam irradiation is performed at a normal irradiation angle, but when the vehicle speed exceeds the above predetermined value,
The frame driving mechanism 80 rotates the lamp unit 20 upward by about 0.5 °. As a result, when the vehicle speed is high, the low beam light distribution pattern P (L) is displaced upward by about 0.5 ° as shown in FIG. 9 (b). As a result, the distant visibility of the road surface ahead of the vehicle is sufficiently enhanced, and the traveling safety of the vehicle at high vehicle speed is enhanced. In addition, since the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle is generally long at high vehicle speed, even if the low beam light distribution pattern P (L) is slightly displaced upward, a large glare is given to the driver of the preceding vehicle. Absent.

When the steering operation is performed while the vehicle is traveling at high speed in the low beam irradiation state, the beam irradiation is performed in the light distribution pattern as shown in FIG.

That is, when the steering operation to the left is performed, as shown in FIG. 9A, the frame drive mechanism 80 causes the lamp unit 20 to move upward by about 0.
By rotating the lamp unit 20 to the left by the unit rotating mechanism 70 in the state of being rotated by 5 °, the low beam light distribution pattern P (L) is displaced to the left by about 0.5 ° while being displaced upward. The vehicle is displaced to the left, thereby enhancing the distant visibility of the road surface ahead of the vehicle during high speed left turn.

On the other hand, when the steering operation is performed to the right, the lamp unit 20 is moved upward by about 0.5 ° by the frame drive mechanism 80, as shown in FIG.
By rotating the lamp unit 20 to the right by the unit rotating mechanism 70 in the rotated state, the low beam light distribution pattern P (L) is displaced to the right while being displaced upward by about 0.5 °. As a result, the distant visibility of the road surface ahead of the vehicle at the time of high speed right turn is improved.

The vehicle headlamp 10 according to the present embodiment.
At 0, leveling control of the headlamp body 10 (that is, control for maintaining a constant beam irradiation angle with respect to the road surface even when the vehicle body is inclined in the pitching direction with respect to the road surface) is performed. In this leveling control, the control unit 108 drives and controls the frame rotation mechanism 80 based on the detection signal from the vehicle height sensor 116, and together with the frame member 50, the lamp unit 20.
It is performed by rotating up and down.

As described above in detail, in the vehicle headlamp 100 according to this embodiment, the frame member 50 is supported by the lamp body 14 so as to be vertically rotatable, and the lamp unit is attached to the frame member 50. 20 is rotatably supported in the left-right direction, and the frame member 50 and the lamp unit 20 are configured to be rotationally controlled in accordance with the traveling condition of the vehicle, so that the lamp unit 20 emits light. The direction of the beam can be changed in the up-down direction and the left-right direction according to the vehicle traveling situation, and thus the beam irradiation can be performed in a light distribution pattern that immediately responds to the vehicle traveling situation. As a result, the visibility of the road surface ahead of the vehicle can be improved.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, since the projector type lamp unit is adopted as the lamp unit 20, the lamp unit 20 and the frame member 50 can be made compact, and thus the vehicle headlamp 100. The degree of freedom of configuration can be increased.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the unit rotating mechanism 70 for rotating the lamp unit 20 is supported by the frame member 50, the unit rotating mechanism 70 is handled as one unit with the lamp unit 20 and the frame member 50. Therefore, these can be easily assembled to the lamp body 14.

Further, in the present embodiment, the lamp unit 20 is mounted on the frame member 50 with respect to the lamp unit 50.
Since the lamp unit 50 is rotatably supported about the vertical axis Av passing through the optical axis Ax, it is possible to accurately and easily control the rotation of the lamp unit 50, and moreover, the space occupied by the rotation locus of the lamp unit 50. (In FIG. 4, the position when the lamp unit 50 is rotated to the maximum is shown by a chain double-dashed line) can be suppressed to a minimum, whereby the headlamp body 10 can be made compact.

As in the present embodiment, the frame member 50 is supported by the lamp body 14 so as to be vertically rotatable, and the lamp unit 2 is mounted on the frame member 50.
Instead of adopting a configuration in which 0 is rotatably supported in the left-right direction, the frame member 50 is rotatably supported in the left-right direction by the lamp body 14, and the lamp unit 20 is vertically supported by the frame member 50. Even when the structure in which the frame member 50 and the lamp unit 20 are rotatably supported is adopted, the same operational effect as that of the present embodiment can be obtained by controlling the rotation of each of the frame member 50 and the lamp unit 20 in accordance with the traveling condition of the vehicle. You can

Further, in the present embodiment, the lamp unit 20 is a projector type lamp unit, and the beam is switched between the low beam and the high beam by the rotation of the shade 32 by the shade driving mechanism 34 (that is, the beam is switched). However, it is of course possible to adopt a configuration of the lamp unit other than this.

For example, it is possible to employ a parabolic lamp unit 90 as shown in FIG.

This lamp unit 90 includes a discharge bulb 92.
, A reflector 94, and a shade 96.

The discharge bulb 92 has a discharge light emitting portion 92a.
The (light source) is attached to the reflector 94 so as to be arranged on the optical axis Ax extending in the vehicle front-rear direction.

The reflecting surface 94a of the reflector 94 is
The light source 9 has the optical axis Ax extending in the vehicle front-rear direction as its central axis.
The paraboloid of revolution having a focal point near the position of 2a is formed as a reference plane. That is, the reflecting surface 94a has a plurality of reflecting elements 94s formed on the reference surface, and the diffuse deflection action of each of the reflecting elements 94s irradiates the beam in a predetermined low beam distribution pattern. .

The shade 96 is formed so as to cover the light source 92a over a predetermined range, and shields light unnecessary for beam irradiation in the low beam distribution pattern.

This lamp unit 90 has the shade 9
Reference numeral 6 denotes a fixed shade, which has a configuration for performing only beam irradiation in a low-beam light distribution pattern (that is, a configuration as a type 2 lamp of a four-lamp headlight).

Even when such a structure is adopted, the frame member 50 is rotatably supported by the lamp body 14 in the vertical direction and the lamp unit 90 is mounted on the frame member 50, as in the above embodiment. If the frame member 50 and the lamp unit 90 are configured so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction, and the frame member 50 and the lamp unit 90 are each controlled to rotate in accordance with the traveling state of the vehicle, the same effect as the above-described embodiment can be obtained. be able to. That is, the direction of the beam emitted from the lamp unit 90 can be changed in the up-down direction and the left-right direction according to the vehicle traveling condition, and thus the beam irradiation can be performed in a light distribution pattern that immediately responds to the vehicle traveling condition. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a vehicle headlamp according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a headlamp main body of the vehicle headlamp.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing the lamp unit of the headlamp body together with a frame member,

FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view showing the lamp unit together with the frame member.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing the lamp unit together with the frame member.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a screen light distribution pattern of a beam emitted forward from the headlight main body when the vehicle goes straight ahead.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a screen light distribution pattern of a beam emitted forward from the headlight main body when the vehicle turns left.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a screen light distribution pattern of a beam emitted forward from the headlight main body when the vehicle turns right.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing how the low beam screen light distribution pattern emitted forward from the headlamp main body when the vehicle goes straight is changed due to a difference in vehicle speed.

FIG. 10 is a diagram transparently showing a screen light distribution pattern of a low beam emitted forward from the headlamp main body when the vehicle turns left and right at high speed.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing a modification of the above embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Headlamp body 12 transparent cover 14 lamp body 20 lighting unit 22 Discharge valve 22a Discharge light emitting part (light source) 24 reflector 24a reflective surface 26 Holder 28 Projection lens 30 retaining ring 32 shades 34 Shade drive mechanism 36 rotating pin 38 motor 50 frame members 50A tubular part 50B Flange part 50Ba Extended side wall 50Bb lower right end 52 Aiming Nut 54 Aiming Screw 56,62 colors 58, 60 spacer 64 screws 70 unit rotation mechanism 72 motor 80 frame rotation mechanism 82 motor 82a output shaft 84 frame connecting bush 90 lighting unit 92 discharge bulb 92a Discharge light emitting unit (light source) 94 reflector 94a reflective surface 94s reflective element 96 shades 100 vehicle headlights 102 shade drive circuit 104 unit drive circuit 106 frame drive circuit 108 Control unit 110 beam switch 112 rudder angle sensor 114 vehicle speed sensor 118 vehicle height sensor Ah horizontal axis Av vertical axis Ax optical axis CL cut-off line HZ hot zone (high brightness area) P (H) High beam light distribution pattern P (L) Low beam light distribution pattern

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) F21V 14/00 B60Q 1/06 D // F21W 101: 10 1/12 B F21Y 101: 00 (72) Invention Uji Hori 500 Kitawaki, Shimizu City, Shizuoka Prefecture Koto Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Shizuoka Factory F-term (reference) 3K039 AA01 AA03 CC01 DC02 FD12 GA02 JA03 3K042 AA08 AC06 BA07 BB03 BB05 BC01 BC09 BD04 BE08 BE09 CB08 CB13 CB20

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle headlamp in which a lamp unit for irradiating a beam forward with a predetermined light distribution pattern is housed inside a lamp body, wherein a predetermined frame member is vertically or vertically provided in the lamp body. The lamp unit is rotatably supported in the left-right direction, and the lamp unit is rotatably supported in the left-right direction or the vertical direction by the frame member. The vehicle headlamp is characterized in that it is configured so that each of them is controlled to rotate. 2. The vehicle headlamp according to claim 1, wherein a unit rotating mechanism for rotating the lamp unit is supported by the frame member. 3. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the lamp unit is supported by the frame member so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis passing through an optical axis of the lamp unit. Headlight. 4. The lamp unit includes a light source arranged on an optical axis extending substantially in the front-rear direction, a reflector for reflecting light from the light source forward toward the optical axis, and in front of the reflector. And a projection lens that is provided between the projection lens and the reflector and that shields a part of the reflected light from the reflector. The vehicle headlamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is characterized in that. 5. The lamp unit is formed by using a light source arranged on an optical axis extending substantially in the front-rear direction and a paraboloid of revolution having the optical axis as a central axis and having a focus near the light source position as a reference surface. The vehicle headlamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is configured as a parabolic unit including the reflector.